Indiana Post-Conviction Relief Lawyer

Call (317) 202-1163 to Learn About Your Available Legal Options

A guilty verdict and sentencing are not necessarily the end of the case
for a criminal defendant. An Indianapolis criminal defense lawyer at Keffer
Hirschauer LLP knows what legal options may still be available, and that
is why the firm’s attorneys continue to provide quality criminal
defense after sentencing.

The distinguished and peer-respected Indiana criminal defense attorneys
at Keffer Hirschauer LLP know that the need for superior representation
is as critical in post-conviction proceedings as it was in the underlying
criminal case.

To have the greatest likelihood of succeeding in post-conviction
proceedings, a petitioner needs attorneys like these, who are experienced
in criminal law, understand the intricacies of Indiana post-conviction
relief, and can act swiftly, competently, and thoroughly to traverse the
muddy waters of post-conviction proceedings. Call the attorneys at Keffer
Hirschauer LLP today (317) 202-1163!

Understanding Indiana Post-Conviction Relief

A criminal defendant has limited opportunities to challenge a conviction
or sentence: a
direct criminal appeal,
sentence modification,
clemency,
pardon, and post-conviction relief proceedings. The most familiar is likely the
direct appeal, but post-conviction relief is often a viable but overlooked
option. A legal process with elements of both criminal and civil law,
post-conviction remedy is a specific and complicated legal proceeding
that challenges the legality of some aspect of the criminal trial or sentencing.
As a result, working with an experienced Indianapolis post conviction
attorney is necessary to make sure the challenge has the best chance of success.

What Is Indiana Post-Conviction Relief?

Post-conviction relief is a legal process in which a criminal defendant
challenges the legality of some portion of the criminal trial, the judgment
of conviction, or the sentence on legal grounds that were unknown or unavailable
in the original trial or on direct appeal. It is not a chance for a “super
appeal.” In fact, the defendant may or may not have pursued a direct
appeal before seeking post-conviction relief.

Post-conviction relief and direct appeal are similar in that a criminal
defendant may assert multiple grounds for relief. However, they differ
on timing: the law sets a deadline for filing a direct appeal, but a petition
for post-conviction relief has no such deadline.

The grounds for post-conviction relief all involve a claim that some element
of the underlying proceeding or a decision in that proceeding was illegal
or unconstitutional. Many of the possible grounds for Indiana post-conviction
relief are set forth by the
Indiana post-conviction rules:

Defendants must strictly comply with Indiana post-conviction relief rules
or risk waiving (or losing) the opportunity to seek post-conviction relief.
As a result, succeeding in a post-conviction proceeding can be very difficult.

In addition to completing the forms correctly, failing to satisfy certain
filing requirements can also affect whether the court will even review
the errors asserted. Some of the filing requirements are as follows:

The petition must be filed in the court that entered the judgment of conviction—the
trial court, not the appeals court—unless the petition challenges
the revocation of parole

The petitioner must file three copies of the petition

All of the claims for relief asserted must be in a single petition, and
failure to include a claim may result in waiver of the ability to bring
such claims later

With so much at stake, it is crucial to enlist the help of an experienced
Indianapolis post-conviction attorney who knows the strongest arguments
available in the case and when and how to file.

In preparing a petition for post-conviction relief, you also need to provide
the court with the relevant parts of the criminal case documentation.
At a minimum, a petitioner for post-conviction relief must accumulate
and provide the following:

The charging information and any filings related to it

Evidence or discovery from the underlying criminal trial

The motions and resulting orders from the underlying criminal trial

The official transcript from the criminal trial

Where post-conviction relief is based on an element of a direct appeal,
all relevant documentation from the appeal

Documentation of anything that happened in the criminal case after the trial

Accumulating these documents is time-consuming, requires particular filings,
and incurs expense. Criminal defendants are often ill-equipped to understand
the requirements and prepare the appropriate written requests for the
necessary post-conviction documentation.

Petitioners for post-conviction relief must also show that they or their
criminal defense attorney asserted the underlying basis for post-conviction
relief and that they did so either at trial or another relevant proceeding.
This shows that the defendant “preserved” the error for review
as a basis of post-conviction relief.

If the criminal defendant did not preserve the issue, either in the trial
court or on appeal, the issue is waived unless the petitioner can show
that the failure to do so was the result of ineffective assistance of counsel.

An experienced post-conviction attorney can help navigate the challenge
of determining the appropriate grounds to assert in a petition for post-conviction
relief and whether it is possible to avoid a determination that one or
more grounds have been waived and are ineligible for review.

After the petition for post-conviction relief, the court may or may not
set the matter for a hearing. Either the petitioner or the State may request
a summary disposition, in which the court makes a decision without a hearing
and based strictly on the documentation and arguments filed. If the court
holds a hearing, a judge, not a jury, hears the evidence and decides whether
to grant relief. In either case, the petitioner has the burden of proving
grounds for relief by a
preponderance of the evidence.

Successive Post-Conviction Relief Petitions

While obtaining post-conviction relief is rare, obtaining relief under
a subsequent or successive post-conviction petition is even less common.
Generally, an accused cannot file an additional petition, even if the
initial petition is, for example, dismissed based on a technicality. And
because the initial post-conviction petition must set forth all possible
claims, a successive petition for post-conviction relief must assert an
extraordinary circumstance to avoid waiver.

For these reasons, a criminal defendant must obtain permission to file
a successive petition for post-conviction relief. For example, a petitioner
may allege that the post-conviction attorney who filed the prior petition
for post-conviction relief rendered ineffective assistance of counsel
by omitting one or more potential grounds for post-conviction relief.
If the Indiana Court of Appeals determines that the circumstances warrant,
the court can grant leave (give permission) to file a successive post-conviction petition.

Habeas Corpus Proceedings

Habeas corpus proceedings are civil actions that are separate from but related to underlying
state or federal criminal litigation. They are not filed to attack a conviction
or sentence as is done in a petition for post-conviction relief. Instead,
Indiana habeas corpus petitions are filed in the county of incarceration
and seek release from unlawful custody.

Habeas corpus relief is an exceptional area of relief that covers federal
violations or claims that should have been known, or evidence discovered,
after post-conviction relief. In Indiana,
Indiana Code § 34-25.5-1-1 et seq. set out the proceeding for seeking relief from detention not specifically
covered by Indiana post-conviction proceedings.

Federal courts often provide online access to habeas corpus
forms for habeas corpus relief, but, just as with post-conviction relief forms, any habeas corpus claims
should be carefully crafted to avoid the risk of waiving the right to
review and determination of the claims alleged. Having the assistance
of attorneys familiar with habeas corpus claims and process, like those
at Keffer Hirschauer LLP, is critical.

Find Your Indiana Post-Conviction Relief at Keffer Hirschauer LLP

Seeking Indiana post-conviction relief can be intimidating. The rules for
filing are rigorous, and the court refuses to review a petition that does
not strictly comply. Having the assistance of a skilled post-conviction
relief attorney is essential to getting your petition reviewed by the
court and improving your chance of success.

An Indianapolis post-conviction attorney from Keffer Hirschauer LLP is
ready to provide the help you need to make sure you have done all that
you can. Contact us today at
(317) 202-1163 or through our
online contact form for a free case evaluation.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.